Until This Lie Do Us Part - Missing Chapters
by TVDVampire
Summary: Just some extra chapters I never got around to writing for Until This Lie Do Us Part.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I decided to write missing chapters of Until This Lie Do Us Part because I miss the story and I miss Lily. I will do these randomly, and if you have ideas, please send them my way!**

**This first chapter takes place after Stefan and Elena are married, but she is still very cautious with him and still a little mad at him for getting her to agree to marry him.**

**Let me know what you think!**

Stefan sat at the kitchen table with a very frustrated 6-year old. They had been working on math problems for the past hour and not one math problem had made sense to Lily. "I don't get it Uncle Stefan" she whined, throwing her pencil down and slouching in her chair, crossing her arms.

Stefan was pretty frustrated too. He had never failed with Lily, yet all he could think about was how he was failing with her now in trying to help her with her homework. "Let's try again" he told her, grabbing her pencil and handing it to her.

Lily ripped the pencil out of his hand and threw it across the room. "No, I can't do it!" she shouted before bursting in tears. Her little curly brown ponytail was a mess from all of the wiggling around she had been doing in her seat.

Stefan sighed. This wasn't working. He ran his hand over his face, forcing himself to relax. "Okay, let's take a break" he said, standing and plucking Lily out of her seat. She continued to cry as he carried her towards the front door. He stopped briefly to put her jacket and her boots on.

"Where are we … go…go…going Uncle Stefan?" she sniffled, rubbing her tearful eyes.

"To have fun" he told her, picking her back up and carrying her outside. It was a little chilly out, but he wasn't planning on keeping Lily out that long. Once they were in the front yard, he put her down on her feet, then proceeded to tap her shoulder. "Tag, you're it!" he said, taking off running.

He looked back to see Lily glaring at him, but her lips soon turned up into a smile and the excitement of the game filled her eyes. "You cheated Uncle Stefan!" she yelled, running full speed after him. She was laughing though, and that had been Stefan's goal. He stopped running and waited for her to catch up, spinning to try and avoid her as she approached, but letting her tag him. "Gotta get me Uncle Stefan!" she squealed, taking off running. She ended up hiding behind a tree, peeking out from behind it and covering her mouth as she giggled.

"Hmm, where did Lily go?" Stefan called out, pretending to search high and low for her. He could hear her giggle and wasn't surprised. She was the worst at hide-and-go-seek because of her giggling. He walked towards the tree and could see her boots. "Found you!" he yelled, jumping out from around the tree and surprising her.

Lily screamed before taking off running back across the yard. Stefan was trailing behind her, chasing her to try and tag her. "No tag backs! Not tag backs!" she yelled, running as fast as she could.

"Then who am I supposed to tag?" he asked. It was just like Lily to make up her own rules during the middle of a game.

"Not me not me not me!" Lily shouted, slowing down as she became tired. "Time out Uncle Stefan" she said, breathing hard from running so much in the cold. Stefan slowed down too and followed her lead, sitting on the grass and laying back to rest. "I'm good at this game, huh Uncle Stefan?" she asked.

"The best" Stefan smiled, turning his head to look at her. He looked up when he saw something move by the window inside the house.

Elena had been watching them from the window the past few minutes, not being able to stop watching them. They were amazing together. They both had spirit and were strong-willed. But they loved each other so much. And although she didn't have many nice things to say about Stefan since he had gotten her to marry him, she couldn't help the fact that he could be so natural with a small child.

Elena stepped outside, zipping up her jacket. Stefan and Lily stood up when they saw her. Lily's eyes lit up when she saw that Elena was coming to see them. "Un-times!" she yelled, taking off running again.

Stefan laughed at her as he went running after her, catching her easily and picking her up, tipping her upside down. "You're it" he told her, setting her back down.

Lily shook her head and crossed her arms defiantly. "I said no tag backs" she protested.

"You tagged me back" he said, ready to argue with her if he had to. He crossed his arms too, mocking her.

"Yeah but you didn't say no tag backs" she countered. "Rules are rules Uncle Stefan" she reminded.

Stefan shrugged. "Then I guess that only leaves one person for me to tag" Stefan said, turning around and eyeing Elena.

Elena shook her head though. "I'm not playing" she said, speaking for the first time since she got out there. "I just came out to see what you two were up to" she added. Honestly, she had been bored. She had studied all day and needed a break.

Stefan and Lily looked at each other, smirking as they did. They both walked towards Elena and stopped in front of her. "You have to play tag with us" Lily told Elena. "That's the rules" she added.

Elena raised her eyebrow at the small child before her. "Who says?" Elena asked.

"I says" Lily answered.

When it came to Lily, that was a pretty solid argument. "Is there a base?" Elena asked.

Lily stopped and thought about this for a moment. "The tree" she said, pointing to the large tree she had been hiding behind. "And Uncle Stefan's it" Lily added. Stefan smiled at Elena, ready to tag her. Lily watched to see if he would be successful or not. "You had better run Elena" Lily warned. "Cause Uncle Stefan is really fast. Almost as fast as me" she explained.

"Is that so?" Elena asked. Lily nodded. Elena eyed Stefan some more, trying to figure out her best plan of action. "Stefan, your phone fell out of your pocket" Elena told him, pointing to the ground behind him. Stefan stopped and turned around to look for it, only to realize that Elena had taken off running and his phone was actually in his jacket pocket.

Lily was laughing all the way to the tree as she ran. "She tricked you Uncle Stefan!" she shouted, finding that to be the greatest thing ever.

"I see that" Stefan said quietly, though he loved a good chase, especially when they played dirty.

"Hurry Elena hurry!" Lily yelled, holding her hand out to help Elena reach the tree faster. When Elena did, she took a moment to catch her breath. Lily high-fived her. "You can't get her now Uncle Stefan. She's on base" Lily pointed out.

Stefan grinned before grabbing onto Elena's waist and pulling her away from the tree. "Hey!" she complained, failing to get her hands on a branch in time. "That's cheating!" Elena accused.

"Is not" Stefan retorted, carrying Elena a good twenty feet from the tree before letting her go and tagging her. She did not look amused.

"You're it Elena!" Lily shouted, leaving her tree and running away.

Elena just shook her head, still in disbelief. "Do I get to tag you back?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged. "If you can catch me" he grinned, taking off running again. He wasn't expecting her to run as fast as she was after him. He really wasn't expecting to feel her on his back either as she tackled him down. He attempted to stay upright, but lost his footing and went down with her coming on top of him. He rolled her over, straddling her body and pinning her arms down with his hands. They both had satisfied looks on their faces. "Well played" Stefan told her, clearly impressed with her strategy. "You're fast for such a little thing" he added.

"Wasn't even trying" Elena told him. "And you're it by the way" she told him. "No tag backs" she added with a sly grin.

"Too bad you're so against us kissing" he said, looking down at her. "Because I could kiss you pretty senseless right now if you let me" he added.

"Not a chance" she told him. Stefan wasn't discouraged though. Every day, she was softening towards him little by little. They heard Lily running back towards them and Stefan climbed off of Elena and stood.

"We gotta help her up Uncle Stefan" Lily told him as she grabbed onto Elena's pant leg and began to pull.

Stefan laughed at his niece and grabbed Elena's hand, helping her to stand. "Thank you" Elena told them, brushing herself off.

"Uncle Stefan I'm cold" Lily said, tugging on his jacket and reaching her arms up.

Stefan picked her up and held her close. "We should go back inside and I'll start dinner" he told them. "What do you want?" Stefan asked Lily.

"Marshmallows!" she said excitedly. "With hot chocolate and whipped cream!" she added.

Stefan and Elena both laughed. "Nice try" he told her. "I meant real food" he clarified.

"That is real food" Lily argued. Then she turned to Elena. "Elena, do you want marshmallows and hot chocolate for dinner?" she asked. "And think very carefully about your answer" she added, pointing her finger at Elena.

Elena simply smiled. "I think maybe the hot chocolate and marshmallows should be for dessert" she said.

Lily glared at Elena. "Wrong. Answer" she said in an irritated tone.

"I agree with Elena" Stefan said, switching Lily to his other arm. "I will make you any food you want for dinner and we can do marshmallows and hot chocolate for dessert. Deal?" he asked.

Lily crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine" she stated. Then she frowned. "But I don't know what I want" she whined.

"How about pancakes?" he asked. Lily was trying hard not to agree. Only because she was mad about the hot chocolate and marshmallows. "Dinosaur pancakes" he enticed.

Her mouth dropped opened in absolute excitement. "I want to help!" she said excitedly.

"Of course. You're my helper" he told her, kissing the side of her face. "But I have to get the flour I just bought out of my car, so why don't you go inside with Elena" he said, passing Lily off to her.

Stefan could hear Lily telling Elena all about how the dinosaur pancakes were made. And Elena was listening to every word. But it wasn't like she had much choice either.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan let Lily pour the flour into the bowl and Elena watched from her seat at the counter as Lily dumped half the bag into the bowl and half the bag onto the floor. Elena also watched Stefan be so patient with Lily, never once complaining about how messy she was being. "Okay, time to stir" he told her, handing her the large wooden spoon. Again, Lily had half of the ingredients from the bowl all over her and the ground, but Stefan didn't say a word.

"Okay, all done" Lily said a few minutes later. "Make me the long neck dinosaur" Lily instructed.

Stefan smiled as he picked up the bowl of pancake batter and went to work, pouring a little bit at a time as he created a dinosaur on the griddle for Lily. Lily stood on the stool next to him and clapped excitedly as she watched her dinosaur form. "What kind of Dinosaur would Elena like?" Stefan asked, turning to look at her with amusement.

Elena couldn't help the smile that formed. It was nice to be included in the family dinner, but at the same time, she still preferred to sit on the sidelines and watch. "I'm not really hungry" she said, figuring she would grab a bowl of cereal later.

Lily placed her little hands on her hips, ready to scold Elena. "You have to eat Uncle Stefan's dinosaur pancakes cause they are really yummy" Lily told her. "You can have a spiky tailed one or a tyrannosaurus rex" she added.

Elena sighed. She could continue arguing with a six year old and ultimately lose, or she could eat a damn dinosaur pancake. "I'll have a spiky tailed one" she said. Stefan made Elena's spiky tailed pancake

Lily smiled happily. "He's REALLY good at those" Lily told her. Stefan laughed at his niece who practically idolized him. Lily watched carefully as he began to flip her pancake. And the then the unthinkable happened. The dinosaur's neck and head broke off from the rest of the body. "No Uncle Stefan!" Lily shrieked. "You killed it!" she accused.

"I'm gonna have to do surgery" he told her, adding a dab of batter to act as glue. He let it cook a little longer before trying to flip it again. Lily watched intently, holding on to Stefan's arm to keep herself balanced. "All better" Stefan told her.

Stefan looked back at Elena and rolled his eyes, letting her know that his niece was a drama queen. But Elena already knew that. "Okay, flip Elena's" Lily told him. "And don't forget to make your pancake" she added. Stefan made one large blob for his pancake and it puzzled Lily. "What is that?" she asked.

Stefan grinned. "Dinosaur poop" he told her.

Lily burst into a fit of laughter. "That's gross Uncle Stefan" Lily told him, still laughing.

Stefan gave her a big kiss on the side of her face, causing her to giggle. "Go and wash up" he told her, grabbing her with one arm and helping her down. Lily took off running out of the kitchen. "Wash the flour off of your face!" he called out after her.

"You don't seem phased by the mess she's made" Elena mentioned.

Stefan smiled. "She's a kid. Kids make messes" he said, shrugging it off as if it were no big deal. But Elena knew that Stefan made a lot of exceptions with Lily. "Can you get the fruit out of the fridge?" he asked, placing the pancakes on plates and grabbing a broom to sweep up the mess.

Elena got up from her seat and went to the fridge to grab the fruit. "Do you ever tell her no?" Elena questioned, throwing the question over her shoulder.

Stefan threw away the extra flower and came to stand next to Elena to help her with the fruit. "Lily doesn't like raspberries" he said, taking the ones Elena had set on Lily's plate and putting them on his. "And yes, I do tell her no sometimes" he answered. "But I'd rather say yes and make her happy" he added with a smile.

Lily came running back into the kitchen then with a spot of flour still on her cheek. She pushed in-between Stefan and Elena and looked up at them expectantly. "Can we eat yet?" she asked.

Stefan reached down and grabbed her, setting her on the counter. "You missed a spot" he said, taking a kitchen rag and wiping off her cheek. She made a face as he did. "Now we're ready" he told her, setting her back down and grabbing their plates.

Stefan and Elena sat down and Lily crawled up in Stefan's lap, scooting her plate over. Stefan helped her cut up her fruit and her pancake. "This is a tasty dinosaur" Lily said with a full mouth of pancake.

Stefan smiled, shooting a glance at Elena who was eating her pancake as well. "Maybe I should open up my own restaurant and serve dinosaur pancakes" he said.

Elena smiled. His charm was infectious. "Yeah!" Lily agreed. "I will be the stirrer" she announced.

"Sounds good" Stefan said. He caught Elena looking at him again, but she quickly looked back down at her plate. Slowly, he was getting to her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So the poor little cinder-maid married the Prince, and in time they came to be King and Queen, and lived happily ever after" Stefan read, closing the book. He looked down and saw Lily sleeping. Stefan smiled, kissed her forehead and carefully slipped off of the bed. He tucked her in and looked at her one last time before turning the light off and leaving her room.

He sighed, walking down the hall towards his room. He loved Lily more than anything. But she wore him out by the end of the night. He was looking forward to crawling into bed and sleeping until Lily woke up the next morning.

When he passed by Elena's room, he saw that her light was still on. He tapped on her door lightly to say goodnight. "Come in" she said.

Stefan pushed the door open to find Elena laying on her back and staring up at the ceiling. "I was just going to say goodnight" Stefan told her.

"Night" she said, as if she really wasn't paying attention to him standing there, but was being polite nonetheless.

Stefan thought about retreating back out of her room and leaving her alone. But he was kind of interested in what his new wife was so preoccupied with. "Something wrong?" he asked.

Elena sighed. "Just have a really big exam to study for" Elena mentioned, continuing to look up at the ceiling. "And I don't want to" she added.

Stefan chuckled lightly. "You sound like Lily" he said, approaching her bed. He sat down and picked up a stack of index cards that she had written notes on. "Biology" he guessed, looking at her definitions she had written.

Elena groaned. She hated biology. "Stupidest class ever" she mumbled.

"Biology isn't so bad" Stefan said, flipping through her cards. He had aced every test of course without even trying. "Maybe I can help" he said.

Elena turned her head to look at him. "No" she told him. "I mean thanks, but no thanks" she clarified.

"Come on" he said, laying down on his back next to her. Elena tensed for a moment, not quite comfortable in having him that close to her. "Allele" he said, flipping the card over.

Elena sighed again, closing her eyes to try and remember what an allele was. "I don't know" she said finally.

"Yes you do" Stefan encouraged. "Take a deep breath, clear your head, and just say what comes to mind" he told her.

Elena did as he said, taking a moment. "An allele is an alternative form of a gene that arises by mutation" she said in one breath.

"Correct" he said, flipping to the next card. "Mitosis" he said.

Elena groaned. "I always get these two mixed up" she told him. "But I think it has to do with cell reproduction" she said.

"Yep" Stefan told her. Elena continued to answer the next ten correctly. "You know these definitions, Elena" he said, tossing the cards aside. "You just have to relax."

Elena smiled. "Sorry Stefan. But I don't think a game of tag and dinosaur pancakes are going to get me to relax enough about this exam on Wednesday" she told him.

"You'd be surprised" he said, staring at her with a smile of his own. She looked back up at the ceiling again, avoiding his gaze. They were quiet for a minute or two. "I haven't seen you laugh or smile like you did today with Lily and me since you moved in" he mentioned softly.

Elena still avoided looking at him as she let his words sink in. It was true. She had been hell bent on being miserable since the moment she had agreed to marry him. But what was the point? "Lily has a way of doing that to you" she replied. But honestly, Stefan did too.

Stefan smiled. "Yeah, she does" he agreed. But he wondered if maybe he hadn't played a role too in Elena starting to become happier with living with him. "I'm just glad you seem more at ease" he said. "Lily even told me that she kind of likes you" he added, grinning.

Elena laughed. "Kind of?" she asked, turning to look at Stefan and thankful for the change in the subject.

Stefan sat up and shrugged. "Buy her something with sugar and you will make the top of her list in no time" he told her. Again, Elena smiled. "I should let you get to bed. Hell, I need to get to bed. Lily will be up by six in the morning and bouncing off the walls by 6:15" he told her.

"Good luck" Elena said, glad that she wouldn't have to be up that early on a Saturday.

Stefan raised his eyebrow at her. "What do you mean, good luck?" he asked. "I'm sending her to your room after she gets breakfast so I can go back to bed" he said, getting up off the bed and beginning to walk towards the door.

Elena sat up instantly. "Don't you dare" she warned. She rarely got to sleep in anymore, and tomorrow she was planning on sleeping until noon.

"Good luck!" Stefan called, repeating her words as he disappeared out of her room.

Elena fell back on her bed and closed her eyes. She was so thankful that Lily was a kid you could hang out with and then give back. Because between her attitude and her energy, she was a handful. A beautiful, amazing handful.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here is another one of those missing chapters from Until This Lie Do Us Part. This one takes place sometime after Elena tells Stefan about Derrick, but before Elena really starts to allow herself to trust Stefan. Of course, I had to throw Lily in the mix as well.**

**Enjoy!**

There wasn't much that didn't excite Lily, but going shopping probably excited her more than most 6-year olds. Then again, not many girls her age had a never ending spending limit like she did. It was part of being a Salvatore though. If her daddy and her mommy weren't going to buy her whatever her heart desired, you could bet that her uncle Stefan would.

More importantly though, Lily was spending the entire day with Katherine in the city which meant lunch, getting her nails done, and shopping at designer stores that most little girls her age had never even heard of. It meant a whole day of getting all the attention she could get from Katherine doing something they both loved.

Katherine always denied how much Lily looked up to her. Idolized her and wanted to be her. And while she knew she wasn't mother of the year by any means, she did know how to entertain Lily for a day by shopping and doing other girly stuff that the boys could never come close to doing right. Lily was always on her best behavior too, knowing that these outings with her mother were quite rare.

Lily and Katherine stood in front of a large mirror, trying to decide if they liked the jeans they had on. Their nails were perfectly manicured now and they were on store number 13 trying on the newest arrivals. "Well?" Katherine asked, looking down at Lily who was squirming uncomfortably.

"I don't like these" Lily said. She pulled on them and made a face. "They're making my underwear crawl up my butt" she announced.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You've been spending too much time with Stefan" Katherine said, smoothing out her shirt to look at her own jeans again. Underwear crawling up your butt was definitely a phrase Stefan would use.

An employee from the store came to assist them. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked politely.

Katherine ignored her, as per usual. Lily though was quite verbal about what she needed. "I need jeans that don't make my underwear crawl up my butt" she said innocently as she peeled her jeans off and handed them to the woman.

"Oh, okay" the women said uncomfortably as she took the jeans from Lily. "I'll see what I can find" she told her before running off.

Lily sat down in a plush chair in her underwear as she waited. She watched her mom turn in the mirror. "I wish I was as pretty as you Mommy" Lily said.

Katherine smiled as she walked over to her nearly half naked child. She bent down to Lily's level. "You, Lily, are just as beautiful as me" she told her, causing Lily to smile. "You are my child, after all" she winked. Well, Damon's good looks didn't hurt either, but there was no mistaking it. Lily looked more like Katherine and definitely acted like her too. Katherine kissed Lily's cheek before standing back up and picking up another outfit to try on. Yes, she was trying to be a better mom. It took work and some days were better than others.

Lily waited patiently until the store employee came back with a few new pairs of jeans. "Thank you" Lily said cheerfully, eager to try them on too. She put the first pair on and wiggled around.

"Is your underwear up your butt?" Katherine asked with a small grin.

Lily shook her head. "Nope. These ones are okay Mommy" she stated. "But I don't have a jacket that matches them" Lily added.

Katherine placed her hands on her hips as she thought about her daughter's concern. "I think we can find you one" she told her.

Lily smiled brightly. "How about two jackets?" she asked.

"Whatever you want" Katherine told her. After all, Damon's money was endless, or so Katherine liked to think.

"And new boots" Lily listed off. "When do we have to go home?" she asked.

Katherine turned her wrist slightly to look at the Tiffany's watch she was sporting. "In about an hour or so" she told her. "You're spending the night with Stefan, remember?" Katherine told her.

"Of course I remember" Lily told her mother, getting out of her jeans to try on another pair. She wiggled around in those too and sighed.

"Underwear issues?" Katherine asked. Lily nodded. "Maybe you need new underwear" Katherine suggested.

"But Daddy just bought me new underwear" Lily informed her.

Katherine laughed. "There's your problem" she told Lily. Damon did a wonderful job caring for Lily, but even Katherine knew that there were some things only a mom could do right. Like picking out comfortable underwear. Lily looked at her a bit confused, but Katherine just shook her head, changed back into her clothes, and gathered up the ones they were going to buy. "We'll pick you up new underwear" she said, helping Lily change back into her own clothes.

Lily followed along with Katherine up to the counter, holding on to the pocket on Katherine's pants to keep up with her. Lily watched her mother pull out that plastic card she always used when she bought stuff. "Mommy, when do I get a card like that to buy stuff?" Lily asked.

Katherine grinned. "Whenever you can talk your Daddy into giving you one" she told her. Though, Stefan would probably give in first.

"I could buy so much ice cream with one of those cards" Lily said as her eyes lit up. Katherine took the bags and her receipt and walked out of the store with Lily who was telling about all of the toppings she would add to the ice cream.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lily took a small nap on the ride home and was a bouncing ball of energy by the time she got to Stefan's. Katherine helped Lily with all of her bags, said hello to Stefan, glared at Elena, and then left.

"I'm so happy I get to spend the night with you!" Lily said excitedly. "I gots to show you what I bought today" she added, squirming out of Stefan's lap and racing over to her bags. She dumped out all of her new clothes, holding them up one by one as Stefan and Elena watched. Elena figured Lily quite easily had a thousand dollars of clothes lying in a pile on the floor. "I had to get new jeans" she said, holding up a pair.

"Had to?" Stefan asked, quite amused.

Lily nodded. "Yeah, cause some of my old ones make my underwear crawl up my butt" she informed him.

Elena nearly choked on the tea she was sipping upon hearing that come out of such a sweet, well-mannered little girl. "Did she just say that?" Elena asked, turning to Stefan.

Stefan smiled proudly. Lily looked between the two for a moment. "Uncle Stefan says it all the time" Lily informed.

Elena shook her head at Stefan who simply shrugged. "Can you honestly tell me that you've never had issues with underwear going up your butt and being uncomfortable?" Stefan asked her.

"Your six year old niece is walking around announcing that though" Elena reminded him.

"She speaks her mind" Stefan shrugged, still smiling.

"Yeah, I wonder where she got that from" Elena smirked, getting up from the couch to go and put her cup away.

Lily was still occupied with her clothes on the floor, trying to decide what she wanted to wear first. "Can I try them all on for you?" Lily asked.

Stefan shook his head no. "You have to get your pajamas on and go to bed" he told her.

Lily frowned. But she wasn't worried. She could almost always get Stefan to agree to let her stay up later. "Can I put my pajamas on and watch a movie with you?" she asked instead.

"I really think you should go to bed" Stefan said, getting up and helping her to put her new clothes back in the bags.

"Please?" Lily asked. "I've barely gotten to spend any time with you and I miss you and I love you" she told him, batting her not so innocent eyelashes at him.

Stefan sighed, knowing he pretty much had lost the argument. "Okay. But we lay down on the couch and you try and fall asleep" he told her.

"I will. Honest" she promised, hurrying up the stairs to find her pajamas.

Stefan pretended to chase her, causing her to laugh all the way to her room. He sat on the top step and watched her, his heart aching just a little at the fact that tomorrow, she would have to go back home. He hated that. Having Lily in the house made it such a better place. Even Elena seemed happier when Lily was around.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The idea of watching a movie together to fall asleep didn't exactly pan out. Lily had picked _How to Train Your Dragon _and fifteen minutes into it, Stefan and Lily were running around the living room, wielding pretend swords and jumping off of the couches. "I got one Uncle Stefan!" Lily shouted, jumping from one couch to the other. Stefan rolled across the floor and pretended to wrestle Lily's slain dragon. She laughed hysterically as she watched.

Elena rubbed her tired eyes as she slowly came down the stairs, having been woken up by two very loud people downstairs. She rounded the corner to see Stefan rolling around on the floor and Lily jumping up and down on the couch, cheering him on. Elena cleared her throat and Stefan and Lily stopped, turning to face her slowly. "What's going on?" Elena asked, finding it hard to be irritated with being woken up because quite honestly, Stefan and Lily were adorable together.

Stefan sat up some and smiled. "We're training dragons" Stefan informed her.

"Yeah!" Lily confirmed. "And Uncle Stefan's got a big one" she said. Elena couldn't help but crack a smile. It was nearly 11:00 at night and clearly, way past Lily's bedtime. But Stefan was by far the biggest softie when it came to that little girl.

Then Stefan froze. "Uh oh" he said seriously.

"What?" Lily asked, staring at him with concern.

"The dragon. It bit me" he stated, holding his arm. "Do you know what this means?" he asked. Lily shook her head no. "It means … I'm now … a dragon" he said, standing up slowly and flapping his arms.

Lily gasped. "Oh no!" she yelled. "Run!" she laughed, jumping to the other couch and then off, heading for the kitchen. Stefan chased after her and Lily laughed. She came back into the living room and dove behind the couch.

Stefan turned his attention to Elena. "No" Elena said, pointing her finger at him. "I'm going back to bed" she told him.

"Uncle Stefan's gonna eat you!" Lily yelled, grabbing the blanket off of the couch to hide under.

Stefan's eyes lit up as he ran towards Elena who just stood there as he tackled her onto the couch, making dragon noises that made her laugh. "I surrender!" Elena said finally, not fighting back at all. Because this whole situation was ridiculous and she was laughing too hard to do anything about it.

Stefan sat up and smiled down at Elena. How he wanted to kiss her right then. "Lily. Time for bed" Stefan said, still looking down at Elena. She looked up at him, unable to hide her smile.

"But Uncle Stefan" she whined. Stefan slowly got up from the couch and walked over to Lily, picking her up by her ankles and causing her to giggle as she hung upside down. "Okay okay" Lily sighed. "But you and Elena gotta tell me a bedtime story" she told them.

Stefan looked over at Elena who nodded. "Deal" he said, setting Lily down. She stood and lifted her arms, demanding to be picked up and carried. And of course Stefan obliged. "It is way past your bedtime" he told her as he walked towards the stairs. Elena followed.

"But I'm not tired" Lily told him.

"Couldn't be from all the candy I let you eat" he added. Elena rolled her eyes from behind him.

"Daddy doesn't let me eat candy this late like you do" Lily announced.

Stefan reached the top of the stairs and walked towards Lily's room. "And we're not going to tell your dad about all the candy Elena let you eat, are we?" Stefan asked with a sly grin.

He felt Elena playfully slap him in the back. Lily just laughed. "You gave me the candy Uncle Stefan" she corrected. She'd tattle on him any day.

"Yeah, I did" Stefan sighed. "We should get your teeth brushed then" he said, making a quick stop off at the bathroom.

Lily ran from the bathroom when she was done brushing her teeth, hopping into her bed with Elena. Stefan joined soon after. "So, what kind of story do you want?" Elena asked Lily.

Lily snuggled close to both Elena and Stefan and thought about what she wanted. "I want a princess story" Lily decided.

Stefan smiled at Elena and Elena began the story. "There once was a princess who lived in a castle all by herself" she said, smiling down at Lily who was looking up at her expectantly. "And she owned a horse who was her best friend" Elena added. Lily smiled at that.

"And there was a prince in the next town over, who was looking for a princess to marry" Stefan added on to the story. "So he rode his horse to the princess's house one day and knocked on her door …" he said.

"And the princess wouldn't let him in" Elena said quickly, smirking as Stefan looked at her.

"She wouldn't open the door?" Lily asked. "How come?"

"Because she was scared" Stefan said, surprising Elena. "She wanted to make sure he was a good guy first" he added. Elena held his eyes for a moment, catching on to what he was doing right away. "And it took a little while, but soon, the princess realized that the prince was a good guy, and she opened up the doors to her castle and let him in."

"And then he asked her to marry him" Elena said, running her hand softly through Lily's hair. "The princess said yes."

"Because they loved each other" Lily pointed out. Elena nodded. "Did they have a big wedding?" Lily asked.

Stefan shook his head no. "They had a small wedding, and the horses got all dressed up too" he smiled. Lily seemed to like that a lot. "And there was tons of cake" he added.

"Chocolate cake?" Lily asked.

"With fudge frosting" Elena assured her. "And after they ate all of the cake, they lived happily ever after" Elena said quietly, feeling the need to end the story.

Lily smiled again. "That was a good story" she said.

Stefan bent down and kissed Lily's forehead. "Goodnight" he whispered.

Lily closed her eyes and yawned. "Goodnight" she whispered back.

Elena kissed the side of Lily's head. "Sweet dreams" she whispered, slowly getting off of the bed. Stefan followed soon after, switching Lily's light off and shutting her door just slightly.

"That was some story" Elena said, walking slowly with Stefan to their bedroom.

"I thought it was fitting, considering" Stefan shrugged. It pretty much summed up his relationship with Elena currently. Well, except for the happily ever after part.

"Yeah, I suppose so" she said, looking up at him briefly before they entered the room. She went straight for the bed, determined to straight back to sleep.

They were in bed for almost twenty minutes, neither able to sleep though. "I get why you are so guarded" he said, thinking she deserved some sort of validation for the way she felt. After all, who wouldn't be cautious after being in a relationship with someone like Derrick? Then he turned to face her in the dark. "But I appreciate that you have let me in a least a little ways" he added, grabbing her hand and kissing it. "Goodnight" he whispered, letting his hand remain on hers until she would pull it away.

But she didn't. "Night" she said after a moment, listening to his soft breathing. Maybe one day, she could let him in all the way. Though, she was running out of time.


	3. Chapter 3

**So this missing chapter takes place around Ch. 21 of Until This Lie Do Us Part. Stefan and Elena are enjoying each other's company, but are not completely serious about one another. But they have slept together by this point.**

**And of course there is Lily. Enjoy!**

Damon had taken Stefan out the night before and Elena was sure he was exhausted, standing in his room and watching him sleep. She remembered him coming in just after three in the morning, crawling his way up the stairs and giggling as he crawled to his room. He had run into a few things, yelling out curse words and then laughing about it.

He was so obnoxiously loud that it had woken Elena up. And he had been super excited to see her, almost like he hadn't seen her in months. She had helped him undress, brush his teeth and get into bed. That took quite a while. From there, he was all about having sex. Or trying to. He was extremely uncoordinated, eventually making out with a pillow because he was too drunk to know the difference.

He rambled on about getting into a fight with a bunch of bikers which Elena knew wasn't true because Stefan didn't have a scratch on him. But Stefan had assured her in his drunken state that he had kicked all 25 of their asses all by himself. Elena held him nonetheless and humored him, rubbing his back and agreeing with whatever he needed her to agree with. Ten minutes later, Elena had finally gotten him to go to sleep.

While she wasn't exactly thrilled with him coming home that drunk, she wasn't afraid either. Not like she used to be when it was Derrick. Because he was a mean and nasty drunk while Stefan was just happy and horny, though easy enough to control. Then again, Stefan hadn't let lose the whole time she had known him.

So the next morning, around ten, Elena carefully sat on the bed and leaned over Stefan, placing a soft kiss against his lips. She smiled when he didn't even stir. She wasn't surprised. She crawled over him, leaning down and kissing him again. The third time, he stirred. He opened his eyes slowly, groaning because the light hurt his head. Everything hurt, actually. "Happy Birthday" Elena whispered.

Stefan closed his eyes and groaned again. "I feel like I'm going to die" he told her, whining at how pathetic he felt.

Elena grinned. "Must've been all those bikers" she shared with him. He opened his eyes again and looked at her confused. "Tylenol?" she asked. He nodded and she reached over and grabbed a few off of the nightstand.

He popped them all into his mouth and swallowed, willing them to start working right away. "I'm never drinking again" he told her.

"Why don't you lay here for a few minutes and then get up and shower" she suggested. "Lily will be here in an hour." She and Lily were taking Stefan out for the day for his birthday, because he had refused any kind of party.

"Tell her I'm sick" Stefan said, covering his face with his arm and groaning in agony.

"And break that little girl's heart just because you indulged in your stupidity?" she asked. "No, I don't think so" she added with a smile. "Don't go back to sleep" she added, tapping his chin before climbing off of him. She threw a pillow at him before leaving the room. She figured she would have to go and check on him in half an hour to make sure he was getting up.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan rolled out of bed some twenty minutes later, feeling sore and wondering what he had done the night before. He was going to kill Damon for letting him get that drunk.

Stefan stood in front of the bathroom mirror, taking in his appearance. He looked like hell. Hell, he felt like hell. Elena walked in a few minutes later, needing to brush her teeth. She saw him just standing there, looking miserable. "You won't be able to keep these if you keep drinking like that" Elena told him, poking his abs. She put the toothbrush in her mouth and smiled.

He smiled too, because even if he was feeling like crap, her smile could make him feel even the tiniest bit better. "How I feel right now reminds me why I don't drink that often" he told her.

Elena finished brushing her teeth and set her toothbrush down. "You learn from your mistakes. Temporarily, but still, good to know" she grinned, poking his stomach again.

He grabbed her hand this time, holding onto it. "Too bad you already showered" he said suggestively, changing the subject on her.

"Yeah, too bad" Elena told him. She took her hand back from him after a moment. "You seriously need to get ready, because in about 30 minutes, you are going to have a very impatient six year old busting down your door" she told him.

"I read you loud and clear" Stefan smiled. He waited for Elena to exit the bathroom before he stripped off his boxers, leaving him completely naked. He probably would have walked around naked more often than not if Elena wasn't around. He stepped into his shower and turned on the water, hoping to find some relief from his hangover.

The water trickled down his chest, running along the indentation of his abs before falling to the floor. He ran his face under the water, trying to help himself wake up. He had no idea what Elena and Lily had planned for him, but knowing his niece, the day was sure to be busy.

He reached for the bottle of shampoo and it was empty. He was supposed to buy more and had forgotten. Elena had a bottle of hers in the shower though, so he grabbed for that. It smelled like flowers and he wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but he was going deal with it.

At least he still had his manly soap.

Elena had started sharing his shower not too long ago which worked out a lot better because it was a lot easier to accidentally walk in on her. And then since he was already there, it was a lot easier to just join her.

And he didn't hear too much complaining from her about it. Unless she was running later and he made her even later.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lily let herself into her uncle's house, because really, it was more her house than Stefan's. She owned it while she was there. "Bye Mommy!" Lily yelled behind her shoulder before shutting the door. She threw her purse down and went running through the house, nearly colliding with Elena as she rounded the corner. "Elena!" Lily squealed, clinging to her like she hadn't just seen her the day before. "Is Uncle Stefan ready?" Lily asked.

Elena nodded. "I think so" she told her. As fast as Lily came, she was gone even faster, running up the stairs. Elena could hear Lily running around upstairs too. She shook her head and smiled.

Stefan was sitting on his bed, putting socks on when he heard her. "Oh Uncle Stefan!" she called, running into his room.

"Oh Lily" Stefan smiled, putting the other sock on.

Lily hopped onto his bed and jumped her way across it to him before landing in his lap. "Happy birthday!" she yelled.

Despite his head pounding, he was pretty happy to see her. "Thank you Beautiful" he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her face over and over again until she was laughing so hard, she couldn't breathe. He let up and she quickly calmed down.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Stefan nodded. "What are we doing?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Lunch and then roller skating!" she said, not even sorry that she couldn't keep it a surprise. "Come on hurry!" she said, crawling away from him and off of the bed. She grabbed his hand and practically pulled him up and then across his room. "Come on Uncle Stefan" she whined, dragging him towards the stairs. "Elena is waiting."

And Elena was waiting by the front door. "Ready?" she asked, quite amused that a six year old was dragging around a grown man.

"Did you put her up to this?" Stefan asked. He had been roller skating a few times in his life, all of which were with Lily.

Elena grinned. "Nope. She thought of it all by herself" Elena informed him.

"Yep I did" Lily informed him. "Now come on!" she said, her patience running thin.

Elena followed them both out, offering to drive. So Stefan sat back and listened to the low hum of the radio and the constant chatter of Lily in the back. She was going on and on about how she was going to rent the roller skates with the pink shoelaces.

Stefan reached over and grabbed Elena's hand, holding it. She looked over at him and he simply smiled at her. It was nice getting to spend the day with the two of them.

Somehow, Elena had talked Lily out of the pizza parlor and into a small café for Stefan's birthday lunch. Elena had read up on it and saw that it had been given pretty good ratings. Lily was pretty happy with the macaroni and cheese.

When lunch was over, Elena had them bring out a round Reece's peanut butter cake with Stefan's name written in chocolate drizzle. Elena knew that this type of cake was one of Stefan's favorites, but quite honestly, the six year old sitting next to him was the most excited. "You got me a cake!" Lily nearly shrieked, completely forgetting whose birthday it was.

Elena smiled as she lit the candles on his cake. "Make a wish" she told him.

Stefan stared into her eyes for a moment before blowing out his candles. Lily helped too, of course. "This is the best day ever" Lily told them, barely being able to sit still long enough for Elena to cut the cake and pass it out. "Right Uncle Stefan?" she asked with a mouthful of cake.

"Right" he said, wiping peanut butter frosting off of her nose. She made a face at him before going back to eating. "This is shaping up to be a pretty great birthday" he said, winking at Lily and smiling at Elena.

Elena smiled back, but looked down quickly at her cake. Because sometimes, she still couldn't accept the fact that he looked at her like that. Sometimes, she couldn't accept that he wasn't going to talk down to her or hurt her just because he could.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The Hokey Pokey. On roller skates. Stefan thought it was the most ridiculous thing ever, but telling Lily no wasn't an option. Elena laughed at him because Lily was dragging him out to the middle of the roller rink. "What's so funny?" Stefan asked, grabbing Elena's hand and pulling her right along with him.

When the music started, Stefan and Elena were the only adults out there, surrounded by a bunch of kids more coordinated than them. Lily definitely had the moves down, while Stefan and Elena were barely able to turn in a circle without falling. "You look ridiculous" Elena told him, nearly shouting to be heard over the music.

She smiled as they stuck their left foot in, brought it back out and then attempted yet another circle. Stefan smiled too before losing his balance and grabbing onto Elena. She wobbled a bit with him but it was too late. He fell straight on his ass and she landed right next to him. Both were laughing too hard to even care that the song was still going and that a bunch of kids were staring at them. "Are you okay?" Stefan asked after they had both calmed down some.

Elena nodded. "I think so" she said, taking his hand as they both tried to help each other up. The song was finally over and everyone had resumed their skating in a circle. Stefan and Elena held hands as they made their way over to the side to sit down. "That's going to hurt tomorrow" she said, referring to their fall.

Stefan shrugged. "Totally worth it though. Look how happy she is" Stefan said, nodding towards Lily who was smiling as she came flying around the corner.

"Today was about making you happy" Elena reminded him. She had only learned that it was his birthday a few weeks before, when Lily had come to her with her plan to take him skating and to lunch.

"I am happy" he told her. "I like spending time with you two" he added.

She didn't really know what to say to that because honestly, she loved spending time with them too. She didn't feel like a third wheel or an outsider anymore. She felt like she was part of their little family and it was one of the best feelings in the world.

"Come skate with me Elena!" Lily told her, skating towards her and holding out her hand for her to take.

Elena smiled and gladly accepted her invitation, grabbing her hand and taking off. "You're good at this" Elena told Lily as they skated.

"I know" Lily told her. "I practice lots at home" she informed her. Elena had a hard time believing that Katherine or Damon would let Lily rollerblade around in the house on their nice hardwood floors, but then again, Lily usually got her way most of the time.

"Maybe you and I could start doing this more often, so I can get some practice" Elena told her.

Lily's eyes practically grew twice their size as she looked up at her. "Really? You would bring me here lots more?" Lily asked her.

"Of course" Elena told her. They had been spending a lot more time together anyways, doing things that Katherine probably had no interest in. Like going to arcades and museums and movies.

Lily stopped skating and through her arms around Elena, causing Elena to stop too. "Thank you Elena!" she said excitedly.

Elena hugged her back. "You're welcome, Lily" she told her. Elena looked up and saw that Stefan was looking at them, leaning back and smiling.

"None of Uncle Stefan's other girlfriends ever took me to do fun stuff" Lily told her, looking up at her.

"They didn't?" Elena asked her and Lily shook her head. "They must not have been as much fun as me then" Elena told her.

"Nope" Lily agreed. "They were poopy heads" she informed.

"Well I'm glad I'm not a poopy head" Elena said, smiling down at her. "How about we race back to Stefan?" Elena suggested.

"Okay!" Lily squealed, taking off. She was practically in Stefan's arms by the time Elena even got moving. "I beat you" Lily informed her.

"Because you are super fast" Elena told her, sitting next to Stefan.

"Why don't you show us how many laps you can do out there" Stefan told her. He knew Lily and he knew her well. She never turned down a challenge. She was a Salvatore, after all.

"Okay, I will do a hundred!" she told them, jumping up from Stefan's lap and taking off again.

"She has got so much energy" Elena said, smiling as she watched Lily.

"She's been that way since the day she was born" Stefan said. Then he smiled. "When she taught herself to roll over, she would do it for hours until she wore herself out and she fell asleep on the floor" he mentioned.

"I'd believe it" Elena told him. They watched Lily for a few more minutes in silence. "How come Lily never liked any of the women you were dating?" Elena asked.

Stefan stared ahead of him as he thought about her question. "I never let any of them get close to Lily" he answered. Therefore, Lily never really had the chance to learn to like any of them.

"So why let me then?" she asked. In a few months, she'd be out of their life anyway. So what was the point?

Stefan smiled as he turned to look at her. "Because you're different" he told her. "Lily loves you, so I'm okay with that" he added. Lily waved at them both from across the rink and they both waved back.

"She said all those other girls were poopy heads" Elena mentioned.

Stefan laughed. "Yeah, I kind of agree with Lily on that" he told Elena. "You're pretty great though, considering our circumstances" he said. Considering the fact that his marriage to Elena was arranged and she would be leaving soon.

"You're pretty great too" she told him. "I hate to admit it now, but I like spending time with you" she added.

Stefan smiled in agreement because he liked spending time with her too. He leaned over and pressed his lips against hers, giving her a gentle kiss. "Thank you for spending my birthday with us" he told her. The past five years, he spent his entire birthday with just Lily. It was nice to have Elena there with them.

"Thank you for letting me" she said, because she felt relieved to be able to be with them. After years of feeling isolated and looking behind her back constantly, it was nice to feel relaxed and safe with two people she had really learned to care about.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After they had dropped Lily off, they went back home. Though, Elena still had a birthday present for Stefan. He was sitting on his bed, checking his phone when she walked in, holding a large envelope. "I didn't get a chance to give you your present" she said, walking into his room.

Stefan looked up and smiled. "You didn't have to get me anything" he told her.

Elena handed him the envelope and sat down next to him. "I wanted to" she told him. Stefan opened the envelope and pulled out a handful of photos. Every single one of them was of Lily. "I started taking pictures of her every time she was with me and I have been collecting them the past few months to give to you" she told him. "Some we did with her posing and others are just of her on the go" she added.

Stefan looked through the photos in complete amazement. "These are amazing, Elena" he said, turning to look at her. "Thank you" he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

"I think photos are really important" Elena told him, hugging him back. "And I know sometimes you feel like you miss out on a lot when it comes to her growing up, so I hope these help" she explained.

"They do" he told her. "They really do." He let her go and looked over the photos one more time. "They're perfect" he said, smiling once again. He stood and took them to his dresser, tucking them away in the top drawer where he kept all of the important things that meant something to him.

Elena stood too and began walking towards the door, figuring she could get some reading done before bed. But Stefan caught her, looping his arm around her waist and bringing her back against him. "I was going to go and read" she said quietly, feeling his body behind hers. It did things to her. Things she loved.

Stefan's arm was still firmly around her and his mouth was hovering over her ear. "Stay here" he whispered. She closed her eyes and nodded, because she wouldn't have been able to move even if she tried. Elena turned herself around slowly and he immediately kissed her.

They walked towards the bed eventually, sitting down on it and laying back. They continued to kiss, in no hurry to speed things up.

They honestly just laid there, side by side, holding each other and kissing each other slowly.

Until they both fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I really missed Lily, so I decided to add a missing chapter. This one takes place shortly after Stefan and Elena get married. Elena is still very guarded, but can definitely feel an attraction towards Stefan. We also see a bit more of Lily's hesitancy towards Elena like we did when Lily first met Elena at the engagement party.**

**Enjoy!**

Stefan had learned a long time ago that Saturday's were not for sleeping in. At least not very often. Since Lily had turned one year old, she had spent most Saturdays with Stefan, and he had made sure to get her early so he could make the most of his day with her. Once she got old enough to know she was going to Uncle Stefan's, well, then she got herself up and over to his house on her own. While demanding her father take her, of course.

Seeing her happy and excited face made his early Saturday mornings completely worth it too. Stefan greeted Damon and Lily at the front door. Lily was of course dressed in a designer dress with designer sandals, designer shades and a designer purse to match the entire outfit. And she was just six years old. Stefan wasn't big on fashion, so he couldn't tell you exactly who she was wearing. Part of him wished that she could be like any other six year old kid and wear jeans from Target. That would surely send Katherine to her grave early though.

Stefan often caught himself doing that. Thinking about how he would do things differently with Lily. He definitely agreed that sending Lily to a private school was the best option for her, but he also would have encouraged her to spend more time with kids her own age after school, rather than just coming home and playing by herself. He would have taken her out to explore more places, rather than just taking her to her favorite spots.

That wasn't his job though. His job was to make her happy, and he guessed that it was better than nothing at all. "Morning Beautiful" he said as she walked inside with her purse over her shoulder.

"Good morning Uncle Stefan" she said, placing her tiny sunglasses on top of her head and smiling at him.

"See you later Lily" Damon told her, grabbing her hands and kneeling down in front of her. "Have fun today. I can't wait to hear all about it" he added with a smile.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around him. "Bye Daddy" she told him, getting her kiss on the cheek before Damon stood back up.

"I'll drop her off by six" Stefan told his brother.

Damon just laughed. "I'm not worried about it Stefan. Bring her on by when you're ready" he told him, slapping his shoulder as he left the house and shut the door behind him. He never worried when Lily was with Stefan. She always had fun and always came back in one piece.

"Where's my hug?" Stefan asked, crossing his arms.

Lily rolled her little eyes dramatically and set her purse down. She reached her arms up and Stefan grabbed her, squeezing her tight. Tickling her even. "Hey!" she giggled.

"Hay is for horses" he smiled, getting another eye-roll from her. "You're Miss Sassy Pants this morning" he told her.

Lily smiled proudly. "I'm always Miss Sassy Pants" she reminded him. Just like her mother. "Can we go now?" she asked. She had been looking forward to their day out all week.

"Yep. As soon as Elena is ready" Stefan told her.

Lily let out a long, drawn-out groan. "Why is she coming Uncle Stefan?" Lily whined, like Elena joining them was the worst thing in the world.

Stefan had only married Elena a week before, and Lily still wasn't too keen on the idea of her. "That's not nice" Stefan warned. "Elena's part of our family now" he reminded.

"She's not my family" Lily said stubbornly, pouting her little lip in protest.

Before Stefan could correct Lily, he looked up and saw Elena coming down the stairs. The past week, she had had her hair down, straight usually, and was dressed in khaki or black pants for work. It was nice to see her hair up in a ponytail and her wearing jeans with a t-shirt and flip flops. She looked … amazing. He wished she would have dressed like that more often.

Elena slowed herself down and stopped when she noticed Stefan looking at her. Had she not dressed appropriately for their day out? Panic started to creep up on her at just the thought of disappointing Stefan. Not that she was scared of him or anything, but it was sort of an automatic reaction of hers sometimes.

"You okay?" Stefan asked, noticing her spacing off slightly.

Elena looked at him immediately, realizing that he had asked her a question and not given her a command. "What?" she asked.

Lily huffed. "He asked if you were okay!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air, clearly frustrated with Elena in general that morning.

Elena frowned, thinking about having to spend the day with a child who seemed to hate her. "I'm fine" she said quickly.

Stefan was still staring at her as he set Lily down. "Lil, go on up and use the bathroom before we leave" he told his niece.

Lily huffed again. "I don't gotta go" she argued.

"Try" Stefan told her, pointing up the stairs for her to go up.

She crossed her arms and stomped her foot before she ran up the stairs. Elena waited until Lily was up the stairs before she sighed. "She hates me. Maybe I should stay here" Elena told him. She didn't see the need to tag along when she clearly was not wanted.

Stefan laughed. "Lily doesn't hate" Stefan informed her. He'd never allow that. "She's just in a mood this morning. Trust me, as soon as we get to the fairgrounds, she'll be the happiest little girl alive" he promised. Elena gave him a disbelieving look. "You sure you were okay a few minutes ago?" he asked, taking a few steps towards her.

Her defenses went up immediately, wanting to keep him at a safe distance emotionally. "It was nothing" she said, quickly brushing him off. "I'll be out by the car" she said, walking past him quickly.

Stefan decided he'd let whatever it was Elena didn't want to talk about, go. He waited patiently for his niece to finish up upstairs.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had been right. As soon Lily set foot onto the fairgrounds and saw all the rides and things to do, she was a happier kid. She held onto Stefan's hand, her eyes not sure where to look. "Uncle Stefan look at the cotton candy!" she said excitedly, looking up at him with her begging eyes. "I want some" she told him.

"Later" he promised, picking her up so she could get a better view of where they were going. "How about some rides first?" he asked her.

"Yes!" Lily squealed. "Which one first?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.

Stefan smiled. "Let's let Elena pick the first ride" he suggested.

Elena looked over at him nervously, and Lily's eyes were glued to Elena, daring her to choose the wrong ride. When she didn't answer, Lily took it upon herself to speak up. "Maybe she doesn't ride rides" Lily told her Uncle Stefan, acting as if Elena wasn't standing right next to her.

"I bet she does" Stefan replied, looking at Elena again. "Pick one. Any one you want" Stefan told Elena.

Elena thought about it for a moment. "The Teacups" Elena said, hoping it was a ride that Lily would like.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Lily groaned.

Stefan shushed her. "You haven't ever been on the Teacups" Stefan told her. Lily rolled her eyes. She knew she wasn't going to like them, because Elena liked them. Stefan switched Lily to his other arm and used his free hand to grab Elena's hand. He smiled when Elena looked up at him, wondering why he was holding her hand. They didn't always have to hold hands or kiss in public for show. "I happen to like the Teacups" he told her.

"Really?" Elena asked, because she thought he was just saying that to win points with her. The past week or so that they had been married, he had been trying to win points with her wherever he could.

"Dead serious" he told her. "My brother and I used to get those things spinning so fast, we'd puke when we got off" he smiled proudly. Elena laughed. Not that she had meant to, but it just came out.

"Hey" Lily said, listening in on their conversation. "Your brother is my daddy" she reminded Stefan. Stefan nodded. "Daddy rides the Teacups?" she asked, becoming slightly more interested in this ride.

Stefan nodded. "He sure does" Stefan told her. "Come on, we'll get tickets and go and find them." When they approached the ticket booth, Stefan was holding Lily in both arms now since she was getting heavy. "You wanna grab my wallet out of my back pocket?" he asked Elena.

She eyed him cautiously and saw him smirking. Yeah, she'd have to touch his ass to get his wallet. But she did it. He nodded for her to get some money out to buy some tickets. When Elena opened it up, she found more twenty dollar bills in his wallet than she had seen in a long time. She'd have to stop being so caught off guard by his money.

By the time they made it to the Teacups, Lily was bouncing up and down with excitement. "Make us spin really fast Uncle Stefan!" she yelled as they sat in the Teacup. Lily was between the two, to ensure she stayed safe. Stefan grabbed the wheel in the center and began spinning them before the ride even started. Lily erupted into a fit of giggles. "This is fun!" she yelled. Then she looked up at Elena who also was smiling. "He's got big muscles so he can spin us very fast" she informed Elena.

Elena's eyes instinctively scanned Stefan's arms. "Yeah Elena, I have big muscles" Stefan said, grinning when he caught her looking. She blushed and quickly looked away. He would have loved to show her what those big muscles of his could do if she would let him.

By the time the ride was over, Elena felt dizzy. Lily on the other hand was fine as could be, skipping along the walkway as she exited the ride. "Hurry!" she called out to them. She had more she wanted to do and see.

Elena wobbled slightly as she walked. "You okay?" Stefan asked. He felt fine too.

"Just a tad dizzy" she said, stopping and letting her head try and adjust.

Stefan smiled. "Sorry about that. Big muscles and all" he said, trying to get her to smile. She did, but she also wanted to flip him off. Or throw up. She didn't know which. "Here" he said, wrapping his arm around her and leading her off of the ride.

She couldn't deny the way he made her feel when he was that close. The physical attraction was alarming.

Lily was waiting impatiently for them. "Come on already!" she said, throwing her arms up. "I want to ride the Ferris Wheel!" she added.

Stefan smiled. "Lead the way" he told her. And Lily did just that. While Stefan held onto Elena until she wasn't so dizzy.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Stefan had bought Lily two bags of cotton candy and an elephant ear before dropping her off at her house. She was all hopped up on sugar and Stefan could only grin as he gave a "good luck" to his brother before shutting the door and leaving.

Elena was waiting out in the car, running her fingers along the stuffed animal Stefan had won for her. A panda bear holding a heart. It was a sweet gesture, but it still didn't make her like him or her situation anymore.

"Let's get out of here before Damon gives her back" Stefan said, hopping into his car and throwing it into drive.

"That was a lot of sugar in a short amount of time" Elena mentioned.

Stefan looked over at Elena and smiled that adorable smile he had been sporting lately. "Yeah, but did you see how happy she was?" he asked Elena. Elena rolled her eyes. She was sure there wasn't a thing Stefan wouldn't do for or give that little girl. "I think she's starting to like you" he added.

"And what makes you think that?" Elena asked.

"She didn't tell me to get rid of you" he replied. Yes, Lily was famous for telling her Uncle Stefan that his girlfriends needed to take a hike.

"If you say so" Elena said, staring down at the panda bear again.

When they got back home finally, Stefan headed towards the kitchen. "You want something to eat?" he asked behind him. Fair food from a few hours ago wasn't exactly dinner.

"No thanks" she said, heading up the stairs. She had some things to do. Like study, or think about how much her body craved him. She wasn't going to give in though.

She hurried up the stairs and straight to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She changed into some cotton pink shorts and a t-shirt she liked to sleep in. Although she had started sleeping in Stefan's bed, she figured every now and then, she could stay in her room to give herself a break.

It was still early, so she thought she might read a book rather than study. Elena picked up some sappy love novel that she only read once in a while. She stood in the middle of her room and read the back of the book, reminding herself of what it was about. Some girl who was madly in love with some guy and they'd probably have sex eventually.

"She reads" Stefan said, startling her. He was leaning against her doorway, watching her. Liking what he was seeing. Her wearing no bra under her shirt was a huge bonus for him. Elena glared at him as he walked towards her. He reached for her book, but she moved it away from him. Stefan grinned. "Is it a naughty book?" he asked her. Again, she glared. "Tell me Elena, what on earth would possess you to read about sex when you could have actual, mind-blowing sex with me?" he asked her. Elena's face flushed from embarrassment because her mind was actually going there. "Free sex" he added, grinning.

"Get out" Elena told him. She looked irritated when he continued to walk towards her. "Are you deaf?" she asked him.

Stefan stopped in front of her and grabbed her book, tossing it on her bed. "I had a really great time at the fair today with you" he said, choosing to give her a compliment rather than acknowledge her question about his inability to hear. He pushed a piece of hair out of her face and smiled. "You're beautiful with makeup on. But you're gorgeous without it" he added.

"What are you doing Stefan?" she asked. As much as she did not want to fall for his charm, she was. Even if he was lying, it was nice to hear she was beautiful.

"Complimenting you" he said, leaning in and attempting to kiss her. Elena moved her head away, rejecting his kiss. Stefan rested his head against her shoulder instead and laughed. "Ouch" he told her.

"It won't happen Stefan" she told him. "I'm not interested."

"You sure?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah" Elena nodded. "I'm sure." Sure that all she wanted to do was rip his clothes off while he did the same to her.

Stefan sighed. "A kiss goodnight would be the perfect ending to the perfect day" he told her. "It would even get me out of your room faster" he added.

Truth be told, she liked kissing him. The few times she had since they started their charade, she had thoroughly enjoyed. She closed her eyes, feeling his lips placing soft kisses against her neck. He was being bold and instead of freaking out that he was touching her, she found herself leaning against him slightly. "Stefan" she whispered, feeling her control slowly slip away.

"Huh?" he asked, slowly bringing his head up. She felt his hands move around her back and before she knew it, his lips were on hers, kissing her. His lips were rough against hers at first, but when he realized she wasn't fighting him, he backed off, concentrating on kissing her in a way that left her breathless and wanting more. He pulled her closer to him, wanting to increase their physical contact as much as possible. Everything about him kissing her was romantic, from the way his hands pressed into her back to the way his mouth moved against hers.

Slowly, her hands moved to his hips, needing something to hold onto. She was feeling pretty light-headed, but in a good way. Her body wanted to tell her brain to shut the hell up and just do what felt good. Even if that meant sleeping with him.

Luckily for her, Stefan slowly ended their kiss, giving her two or three more sweet, gentle kisses against her lips before pulling away. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her, breathless but satisfied. "God I want you" he said breathlessly, not shy at all about what he wanted.

She looked at him for a moment, somewhat alarmed by his bold statement. He liked to push the boundaries, but Elena didn't see him as the type of guy who would pressure her into anything she really didn't want to do. "I can't" she said quietly.

"Then we won't" he said softly. She felt herself tense when he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead, giving her a gentle, tender kiss. "Goodnight" he told her, allowing his hands to leave her body as he walked away, leaving her standing in the middle of her room, feeling more confused than she had ever felt before.


End file.
